In his own words:
"I am interested in the relationship of the lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure on which the reality of daily Japanese life obstinately supports itself."
&
"I want to make messy, really human, Japanese, unsettling films."
Imamura is the rare filmmaker who engages interest in terms of both form and content. What follows is the text of an email I sent to friends to alert them to the screenings.
http://www.bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=121
Starting on Friday and running through the month of March, BAM is presenting a complete retrospective of the films of Shohei Imamura, Japan's greatest director (and I say this as someone who adores Mizoguchi, Naruse and Kurosawa). As a small expression of my admiration, I will tell you that Imamura is the only director (among those with more than 10 films to their credit) who has never made a movie that I do not love. In my pantheon, he is equalled only by Eastwood, Mankiewicz, and Fassbinder. He is bettered by no one.
This is a rare and special event. BAM will be showing all of Imamura's films in prints from the Japan Foundation. Most of Imamura's work is not available on either vhs or dvd.
The link at the top of this email will take you to the BAM schedule where you can learn about dates, showtimes, and plot lines. What follows are my annotations to his filmography. Stars are given in relation to Imamura's other films. If given on an absolute scale, his work would rarely merit less than ****
** (okay to be missed if you must) *** (to be seen if at all possible) **** (must see) ***** (only death should prevent your attendance)
Stolen Desire (1958) ** In Imamura's first film, we find Imamura's themes in embryo.
Nishi Ginza Station (1958) ** Imamura's second is the closest he ever came to making a routine studio film.
Endless Desire (1958) *** My favorite of Imamura's early films, it is a delightful black comedy that mixes critique in its comedy.
My Second Brother (1959) *** The cynicism, the wit, the deep compassion -- watch Imamura becoming Imamura.
Pigs and Battleships (1961) **** The film where you first feel Imamura completely in control of his material and the aesthetics of cinema. As with all his films, the stink of life hovers over the proceedings. In b&w and Scope (as most of his '60's films are), the images demand to be seen on the big screen.
The Insect Woman (1963) **** Imamura was a great chronicler of women (as were Fassbinbder and Mankiewicz). Through telling their stories, he illuminated the stories of both postwar Japan and humanity itself.
Intentions of Murder (1964) **** Imamura adds New Wave daring to his magisterial command of b&w Scope filmmaking.
The Pornographers (1966) *** Imamura's exploration of the voyeuristic impulse, the camera angles have to be seen to be believed.
A Man Vanishes (1967) **** A film that still amazes me with its mixture of fact and fiction.
Profound Desire of the Gods (1968) ***** The pinnacle (and the movie, if pressed, I most often name as the best of all time), this film represents the culmination of Imamura's work in the '60's. Working in color for the first time, Imamura shows how the cultural and societal past is always present and influencing contemporary events. If you can see only one film, this is it.
History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970) ** One of the documentaries Imamura made during his first sabbatical from feature filmmaking (after the failure of Profound Desire), Immamura's capacious and intense compassion shines through.
Karayuki-San: The Making of a Prostitute (1975) ** Another documentary focusing on the world as experienced by women.
Vengeance is Mine (1979) **** Imamura returns to feature filmmaking with this tale of a serial killer. Radically different than his films of the '60's, Imamura reinvents himself and shifts to male protagonists. Brilliant beyond words.
Eijanaika (1981) **** In his first period film, Imamura brings the talents he developed making documentaries to the historical movie. As ecstatic an experience as you can have while watching a movie (with your clothes on).
The Ballad of Narayama (1983) **** In Imamura's first Palme d'Or winner, the sense of what rural village life was like is impressively evoked. As always, Imamura reminds his audience that we are just one animal among many. Imamura's lead actress sacrificed her two front teeth for the sake of realism.
Zegen (1987) **** WWII as satire from the Japanese perspective. The final film in the quartet of films Imamura made with Ken Ogata as his star (starting with Vengeance is Mine).
Black Rain (1989) **** A change of pace for the director, Black Rain tells the story of the aftermath of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. Austere and classical, the film breaks your heart as you marvel at its formal rigor.
The Eel (1997) **** After an eight-year absence, Imamura returns with his final trilogy. These late films are relaxed and elliptical. For the third time, Imamura reinvents both himself and his cinema. Immaura won his second Palme d'Or with The Eel (a feat matched only by Coppola, the Dardenne Brothers, and Emir Kusturica).
Dr. Akagi (1998) **** A wartime comedy as only Imamura could make it, farce mixes with humanism as we cheer Dr. Akagi on in his quixotic quests.
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001) **** Imamura's swan song is a paean to life fully lived where he generously quotes from his earlier films. One of the great last films in all cinema. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20070228/48b96039/attachment.htm>